Friday, October 16, 2009

Free For All Friday

Thank goodness it's Friday - Homecoming Friday for so many of us who live in Texas. Go Mustangs!

Lots of ground to cover, since our new format means we only videotape every other Friday.

Check out our video. It's the only way to:
  • Meet the fourth person at our table is this week
  • Discover this week's Super Bowl winner or find out next week's competing ingredients
  • Find out if your are this week's lucky Altoid Table winner
  • Catch the names of contest winners over the last couple of weeks
  • Get clued in on Highlowaha's Yellow Envelope Project
  • Receive the ever important prompt for this week's Free For All Topic(s), and...
  • See our shining faces!

Signing off until tomorrow...

22 comments:

Robin said...

1) Fav candy: milk duds
2) costume: grapes (whole family could do fruit of the loom)
3) can't remember what this was...

Heather said...

In case you didn't watch the video...

Our winners were:

Snack throwdown for sourcream: Kate
Altoid Table: Jess W. (send us your address!)
Halloween Anticipation: Peggy
Humble Beginnings: Brian

Don't forget to vote today...hotdog vs. Hamburger and Kate's recipe vs. Lauren's recipe utilizing asparagus.


Free for all is all about Halloween!!!
What is your favorite Halloween candy?
What should Pola be for her first American Halloween?
What is your favorite Halloween decoration?
What are some fun non-candy Halloween treats?

Also don't be afraid to throw your own creative dilemma out there for the whole group to free for all.

TGIF!!

heather said...

Agh...I just notice we are experiencing some technical difficulty with the alignment of the video...I'm working on it and I'll be right back!

Heather @ HouseofShine.com said...

ok done

Jessie Freeman said...

Happy Friday everyone!
As an FYI - I had to go to you tube to watch the video, I got an error when I tried watch it on the blog.

*My favorite candy to get at Halloween is definitely 3 musketeers, it's still my favorite - Halloween or not :)
*Pola should be a Bumble Bee!
*Carving a jack-o-lantern and displaying it as my favorite decoration.
* I know it's still candy - but what about making "ghost" pops by using tootsie pops, kleenex, and a fun ribbon. I can't imagine Halloween with out candy! You could always do Halloween stickers!

TGIF!

Cristine said...

Hi -just a quick note - we're a man down here. William is sick, not H1N1, luckily, but no school for him.
Here's my answers:

1. 3 Musketeers
2. Claudia's mermaid costume
3. Decoration - Matt's coffin it's a full size one that he made, we put it out every year.
4. Costco has a great pack for non-candy Halloween treats. It's got pencils, tattoos, sticker & more. I think that it's for about 30 kids.

At the boys' school we have to sign an agreement this year that we won't bring any type of food/candy as a goodie treat - so we're doing crayons and coloring books - (Walgreens has full size coloring books 2/$1)

Have a great weekend everyone

PS- We've been getting a lot of questions at Struble Suds - where did the money from our 218 Gift go?
Thanks

Kat said...

Favorite candy- Reece's cups!

Costume- I am trying to decide this for myself also. I am thinking about possible being a pirate.

Decoration- Carving a pumpkin is always fun. I also set out my son's trick or treat bag and some Halloween toys in his room to help him anticipate the day. That is always fun to look at!

Halloween treats- I made pumpkin chocolate chip muffins last week and the were incredible!

Spice cake mix
1/2 cup water
15 oz canned pumpkin
1/2 bag chocolate chips

Mix it all together. Put in a muffin tin and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes! Makes a dozen muffins.

Cheryl Houston said...

Great Asparagus recipes this week Snack Throwdown Chefs! I'm having such a hard time deciding. I love Asparagus.

Favorite candy: I don't remember having a favorite as a kid. As long as I got candy and a lot of it I didn't care. I can tell you I hate getting those nougat candies or anything coconut. I love the flavor of coconut but I hate the texture. Ugh.

Pola's costume... Has anyone noticed that when you go to search Women's costumes that over 90% of them have the word Sexy in the title and they show as much skin as possible? When did Halloween become an excuse for women to look slutty? Rant over. Pola should go as Marilyn Monroe.

My favorite decoration are my ghosts that are staked in my front yard.

Handouts other than candy- the little tubs of Playdoh.

Chaotic Kristi said...

Fave Decoration? Spiders, all garland on the altar...

Fave treat (not candy)? We hand out little metal coffins to our friends on Samhain...each has handmade treat or note inside (beads, earrings, etc)

As for handing out candy/treats... as practicing Wiccans we are never home on Samhain (Halloween) as it is our new year. We observe the Sabbat in ritual & then have a party afterwards...costumes & all.

Cheryl Houston said...

Chaotic! I hope Karen is feeling better. You've been missed.

Struble, Big.....1 each. said...

Cheryl, if there weren't a demand (by women) for slutty costumes, there wouldn't be any.....simple capitalism.

Costume, I vote St. Pauli Girl.

Still confused about asparagus in football/tailgate food.

Diana Leilani said...

1. Favorite Halloween Candy: Candy Corn. Only my Dad and I eat this at Halloween so it's always something special I look forward to.

2. Pola's 1st American Halloween. I think she definitely needs a handmade costume! Does she have a favorite character? Book, Movie, Rock Group? Or better yet something classic Halloween like Bride of Frankenstein or the Grey Lady. Let me know if I can lend my sewing machine!

3. My favorite Halloween decorations are definitely pumpkins because they can carry you for the whole season. You can decorate with the interesting ones and carve up a funkin to last and last.

4. Fun non-candy treats. I agree with Claudia not to hand them out at the door... but for your kids or in a classroom maybe making decorations. Witch paper dolls, garland, pressed leaves, etc.

P.S. I like Mayday as the special guest!

Cheryl Houston said...

Matt-

So, you're saying that we (the women) are to blame for all these slutty costumes?

Man- there are a lot of attention starved women out there that are driving the capitalism of slutty costumes. I'm just saying! But I want my voice to be heard- I'M NOT ONE OF THEM. I would rather have a creative, clever- even hilarious costume any day!

Brian K. Root said...

Nice... Winning is fun!

My fave halloween candy was always anything chocolate, particularly mini-snickers bars. Milk duds were fun too!

Pola should be a doctor or nurse... She looks like she could wear one of those white jackets that doctors commonly wear, and would look perfectly natural in it.

I don't decorate much for Halloween... now, Christmas is a different story.

Its all good said...

I am not saying anyone is to "blame". I am saying if women didn't wear them, they wouldn't be sold, thus not made.

I am a fan of slutty costumes, as I am a fan of funny. In contests, it seems the people who win are in fact the creative and funny.

As we are normally at family parties and events, slutty doesn't ususally show up.

Claudia @ Highlowaha said...

Wow! Fun conversation this morning!

Quick note to Cristine and anyone else who might be checking in from Struble Suds.

The money donated by Struble Suds was the topic of conversation at our weekly meeting last night. Our intention is to identify a family in need and to provide them all the fixings for a Thanksgiving dinner to remember.

This week is dedicated to identifying the family (we are working through agencies here in Grapevine, unless you would rather do it in your neck of the woods). Two weeks from today we will Free For All must haves for a Thanksgiving dinner.

I can't wait for Pola to read through all of your suggestions for Halloween costumes.

Cheryl Houston said...

After thinking about this a little bit (and I do mean little) I'm pretty sure we women are not to blame. I think there is a board room full of men smoking cigars and drinking whisky that run the halloween costume designer association conspiring to make the women's costumes as skimpy as possible!

Diana Leilani said...

RE: All the "sexy" Halloween costumes.

Has anyone else seen Mean Girls!?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYIe3t9CK54&feature=related

Admittedly it's gone way overboard. This year I saw "Sexy" SpongeBob. I mean, isn't he a boy?

Halloween is all about magic and inspiration though. So, if "sexy" Halloween isn't your bag it's pretty easy to ignore. :)

Katie said...

Good morning, HLA!

I'm taking a break from working on a statistics project due this afternoon to drop in for the day.

Another fun video- Welcome, Pola!!!

Favorite candy: reese's cups

Pola's costume: I have a friend who every year turns herself into a different school supply. One year she was a post-it note. One year she was a stapler. One year she was a ruler. They're always funny. Could she maybe do a duo costume with Ricky? Peanut butter and jelly? Plug and socket? Salt and pepper?

Decoration: We never decorated much for Halloween in my house growing up. But now that I live on my own, I always have pumpkin garland around my door in the residence hall.

Other item: Those little spider rings. We used to get those trick or treating.

Danko Family said...

Fav Candy - Reese cups...hands down...no question asked (how I ended up with a child with a severe nut allergy is beyond me!)

Costume for Pola - You can never go wrong as a COWGIRL!

Decoration - I always have to pick up a few of those pretty miniature pumpkins at the grocery store or a few gourds.

Non-Candy Halloween treat - A good old fashioned popcorn ball is always good. My old neighbor used to hand out little packs of pennies...like 5 in a little shrink wrapped pack. Or a 5 pack of dimes. I'm not kidding either!

MY FREE FOR ALL QUESTION

Halloween has always been a HUGE deal in our house because it's my sister's birthday. She will be 31 on the 31st this year! Brandon has a severe nut allergy, so trick or treating isn't really a possibility for us. Due to the number of people who go to the local "trunk or treats" I don't feel comfortable there either. I can't risk him coming in contact with any nut containing candy. BUT, I really want he and his twin, Connor, to enjoy the holiday. (They will be dressed up as Thing 1 and Thing 2 this year) I would appreciate any ideas or suggestions. I thought about going to my neighbors and planting some candy that I know is safe for him and for Connor. What do you all think?

Cheryl Houston said...

Kate, your question should be right up Claudia's alley since she has a nut allegery, too.

Peggy said...

Can't say I have a fav. candy ( LOVE all kinds (except that cheap toffee soft candy the 'icky' house used to give out), but when I was a kid, you used to get FULL sized candy bars. But I love Bottle Caps.

Costume ideas: I thought of a cowgirl too! Pirate, princess, fairy, dalmation, hippy....Is this for an indoor or outdoor event? Well, I guess that doesn't matter in TX... but here in Illinois, kids often where their SNOW pants under their costumes!

Non candy: for school purposes the kids loved the Halloween pencils

Decorations: Love the big spider web, either out of black thread, or that fake cotton webbing, with a huge spider.... for me now, it's mums and sunflowers (all fake) and leaves in little decorative vinettes(?) with the cinnamon spiced pine cones.... heaven!

Also, if you are doing that interactive halloween story... make sure you underline all the 'characters', ie: casket, candle, leprachaun, clock etc... and when you say EVERYBODY.... all characters are supposed to talk at once. We had the pricinpal come in being the giant, he really made some cool oh ah! sounds!!